Wrestling: Warm welcome

Monday

Jan 7, 2013 at 9:41 PM

Local wrestlers from Leavenworth, Lansing, Pleasant Ridge and Immaculata return to action in 2013

Times Report

In a competition that included 14 teams, a top five finish was more than acceptable for the Leavenworth wrestling team.By the time Saturday’s 52nd Annual Joe Crouthers Tournament at North Kansas City High School was complete, the Pioneers had accomplished such a feat.Thanks to first-place individual performances from Jesse Colver and Nathan Butler, Leavenworth finished fifth overall with 233.5 points. Belton won the tourney with 313 team points.“I thought we wrestled really well coming off the break,” Leavenworth coach Jay Johnston said. “As far as technique, we were sloppy in areas but overall, as a team, I thought we competed the best we have all year.”The highlights for Leavenworth start with Colver and Butler, who each won their respective weight division titles — 220 and 285 pounds.“It’s weird that the expectations for these two to win every time out has become normal, but it has,” Johnston said. “They are both wrestling at a really high level right now.”At 132, Danial Wilson placed second while Danny Wilson did the same in the 113-pound class. Tilden Edwards came in third place at 160 pounds and Steven Martinez finished fourth in the 126 class.“Danial wrestled the best he has since being in the program,” the LV coach said. “I was impressed with his technique, his toughness and attitude. Steven wrestled real tough and got by with his grit, so those two impressed me the most on the day.”Peter Gardner, Jacob Harrington, Kelsey Mason and Michael Harrington also participated in the event but failed to medal.The Leavenworth wrestling team will participate in the Newton TOC Tournament beginning at 3 p.m. Friday.

Lions fourth at Wildcat ClassicFor the Lansing wrestling team, Saturday was a productive step.At the Wildcat Wrestling Classic in Louisburg, the Lions put together a fourth-place team effort in the 11-team tournament. Ray-Pec won the competition.“We had a great weekend,” Lansing coach Ron Averill said. “With the youth of our team and being open in four weight classes, to get fourth was a great team finish. It was real big for us in just the fact that we needed to start the year on a positive note.”The biggest winners for Lansing included Cole Hoing, Elijah Hill and Camden Chiles all grabbing silver medals in their respective classes — 126, 132 and 160. Yet the best Lion was Caleb Ward, who won the 182-pound division.“Caleb Ward was able to wrestle clean, not make mistakes and capitalize on staying in the proper position,” Averill said. “Cole Hoing in his first win had probably the biggest win on the day when he pinned his opponent who was 22-1.”Other Lion results were Sky Summers placing third at 120, Will Gering got fourth at 138 and Zach Carccilo came in sixth at 145.Caleb Phipps (113) and Treyvon Taylor (195) each claimed sixth place finishes while Juston Smith was seventh in the 152-pound class.“It was a real good experience for us and very positive because we saw improvement throughout the whole team,” the Lions coach said.Lansing will compete in the Basehor Bobcat Classic Friday beginning at noon.

Rams, Raiders compete at Rossville InviteThe 2013 Rossville Invitational produced different results for two area wrestling teams.At the 14-team event, Pleasant Ridge was able to rack up 122.5 total points to place third overall. Goodland won the competition with 224.50 points. On the flip side, Immaculata tied for 14th place by finishing with 11 points.“We kind of had a little rust to start with, but as the day wore on we got back into the groove of things and finished well,” PR coach Darren Weber said.The Rams were able to secure the top three placement thanks to five medalists. Of those, Jared Johnson had the best day by going 3-0 and winning the 170-pound division.Other top PR wrestlers were Blake Graham taking second at 132, as did Clayton Gum at 106, and Tony Weber going 3-2 for third at 113. Nick Hyde placed fifth at 138 while Hunter James (126) and Aaron Brown (195) each won sixth in their respective weight classes as well.“Jared again at 170 was solid all day long,” Weber said. “He had the No. 2 ranked kid in the state in the finals and for the second time this year took care of him so that stood out.“Blake Graham also had another trip to the finals. He seems to be finding his offense when he is on his feet. He has really good speed and quickness and it’s something we’ve been talking to him to use more.”The rest of the Pleasant Ridge results included Logan McKinney ending up in fourth place at 182 and Nate Amos garnering a 1-2 mark at 160. Blake Hadley was 0-2 at 145.For Immaculata, 152-pound Bruce Stanley was the only Raider to claim a victory as he finished fifth at 152. Jared Clothier (126), Cory Holcomb (132), Max Campbell (145) and Sam Linder (160) all finished the competition 0-2.Both teams will again participate in the same tournament this weekend when they wrestle at the St. Mary’s Tournament starting on Saturday at 9 a.m.

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